Cobolt Collective

20/04/2022

Prints are finally here! 100% of profits going to
British Red Cross who provide aid to refugees & victims of war across the globe. Beautifully printed by RISOTTO


Words taken from the poem, What I Will, by Palestinian poet Suheir Hammad

https://www.coboltcollective.com/shop/p/dance-and-resist

17/03/2022

Dance and Resist is an artistic representation of Cobolt’s stance against the numerous wars that are happening around the world today. The current conflict in Ukraine has brought war to the forefront of the public psyche, and we felt it appropriate to use our skills to stand up against this war, and all others, in whatever way we can.

The words are a snippet from the poem, What I Will, by Palestinian poet Suheir Hammad. She writes, “I will dance and resist and dance and persist and dance”. We thought this sentiment to be wholly fitting to our anti-war message and also pertinent to SWG3, the music venue on which the mural currently resides.

The visuals are inspired by the simplistic and striking protest posters of Atelier Populaire - a French art movement of the 1960’s that supported the working class in their fight against the oppression they were facing under the Charles de Gaul government. These designs were highly successful in drawing attention to the cause, and so we have borrowed their visual language bringing it into the current socio-political climate, hoping for our design to have a similar effect, all be it on a smaller scale.

We will be making prints of the design where 100% of our profits will be going to The British Red Cross - world humanitarian charity, who provide aid to refugees and victims of war across the globe. Our prints will be available to buy on our website within the coming weeks.

📸 Michael Cameron Hunter

20/12/2021

Thats us signing off for 2021, hope everyone has a very Merry Christmas and a happy New Year.

We will leave you with our biggest mural to date… During the Summer of 2021, we worked with various communities across Dundee in a series of creative co-design workshops, imagining how they would like to see the plaza outside V&A Dundee transformed. Together we sketched and collaged abstract shapes inspired by the local environment, highlighted areas of significance around the site, and built up some valuable insight into how the community wanted to see this area used. The biggest take away for us was that the community wanted the space to spark feelings of joy, curiosity and play, so we aimed to achieve this with the piece.

We constructed a poem from the written responses and conversations in the workshops. These words, along with the bold colourful shapes, guide the public on a playful journey around the plaza. The custom typeface is based on the old signage of the well loved Leisure Centre that was previously situated on the site. We have embellished the letters with shapes that were generated during the workshops.

We returned to Dundee in July to paint during a heatwave so hot that the paint was drying almost as soon as it hit the floor! With lots of long hours, help from the workshop participants and V&A staff, bottles of suntan lotion, and ice-cream to keep us going, we managed to complete this huge sunny summertime mural in under two weeks. It was definitely a joy to paint. A very very big thank you to all the staff at V&A Dundee particularly Jo, Tracey, Mhairi, John and Scott.

23/09/2021

Having read and loved ‘Shuggie Bain’ by Douglas Stuart at the start of this year, we were beyond delighted to be asked to paint a mural and design a poster to celebrate the beautiful novel set in our beloved hometown of Glasgow. The book is rich in vibrant visual stimuli and depicts nostalgic imagery of the city in the 80s that inspired the content of the artwork.

The mural includes the quote, “You’ll not remember the city you were too wee, but there’s dancing. All kinds of dancing.” The words come from a section of the book where Agnes is telling her son, Shuggie, about the brilliance and the beauty of Glasgow.

The image of Shuggie, which appears in the centre of the mural, is bringing to life the closing lines in the book where the protagonist twirls and dances in the street. The fireworks going off whilst he dances are another reference from the book, and also give a nod to the stars on the iconic Barrowland Ballroom sign (where the mural is painted).

This famous Glasgow venue is referenced throughout the book, so to have been able to paint it on the side of this building felt wholly fitting, giving Shuggie the centre stage in the city that he so greatly deserves.

We had the pleasure of working with Ellie Bainbridge and Jack Batchellor - two students from Glasgow School of Art - to design a typeface for this project. Ellie and Jack designed ‘Flourish’, a typeface that explored the absurdness and toxicity of traditional notions of masculinity. They transformed a typeface widely recognised from 80s Glasgow, used on miner strikes and poll tax placards. Inspired by the ‘happy confident loops’ of Shuggie’s mother, Agnes’ handwriting as inspiration, they added these ‘flourishes’ to the harsh, rigid forms. This mirrors Shuggie’s story in the book, in the same way that he ‘flourishes’ in spite of a life full of the rhythms of a more restrictive, disadvantaged and openly hostile upbringing—dancing, even as bullies taunt him—so too do the letters of ‘Flourish’ dance (and flourish!) in spite of their restrictive, condensed roots.

This project was a pleasure to work on, thank you to everyone who helped bring it to life!

Photos by Ricky Frew Photography

07/07/2021

We thought it was about time to share our sunniest mural to date and our first south of the Scottish border!

The theme for the mural was Wakes Week - a holiday period in which factory towns would pack up and rush to Morecambe en masse, leaving industrial towns behind to find the beauty and healing powers of the seaside.

The design brings to life stories that were shared with us by locals; from the nights spent on the promenade roller skating, to visiting the swimming stadium to watch the Aqua Lovelies perform synchronised swimming, and jump from the high diving boards. We have also included illustrations of those who take solace from the health benefits of swimming in the bay today along with other references to the the town.

The words ‘A bay of big skies and shifting tides’ come from how the locals describe the bay themselves, and we found the words ‘come and be happy at Morecambe’ on a vintage postcard sent by holiday makers during the Wakes Weeks back to their friends/families in the Mill Towns.

The 180m2 mural itself was a joy to paint. The views from 15m up were incredible and we witnessed a few of the famous Morecambe sunsets whilst we were painting. We have never been to a more welcoming and friendly town - each day brought more smiling faces who shouted up their encouragement and we were brought many teas, coffees, ice creams and pints to keep us going. We even got a round of applause when we finished it!

A MASSIVE thank you to Deco Publique for commissioning the mural and supporting us throughout the process.

24/03/2021

Are ye dancin’? Our new t-shirt design to raise money for Playlist for Life has gone live on Print Social to celebrate Music Appreciation month.

https://www.weareprintsocial.com/campaigns/are-ye-dancin

Music has the incredible power to bring people together to dance. The physical, mental and emotional benefits that dancing can have can have are endless. Going to club nights at the weekend for a dance with your pals is something that has been greatly missed by many over the year-long lockdown. This is why we wanted to celebrate a time in recent history where dance-halls were especially thriving, and music brought people to their feet to dance with partners and friends for hours on end.

100% of COBOLT's profits will go to ‘Playlist for Life’, an incredible charity who harness the power of music to improve the lives of those living with dementia. They create personal playlists for people with dementia to reduce anxiety, improve wellbeing and evoke memories that can help families connect with their loved ones.

'Are ye Dancin’?' is a nostalgic Glasgow phrase - a cheeky but charming way to ask your partner to join you on the dance floor. If the reply was ‘are ye askin’?’ then you were on! We hope this phrase, along with the reference to old-school music posters, will have an emotional resonance for some of those who are living with dementia now.

25/06/2020

Thank you It's Nice That for the great write up! 💛💙

The mural art collective founded by Erin Bradley-Scott, Chelsea Frew, Kat Loudon and Edda Karólína Ævarsdóttir celebrates key workers in this typographic and illustrative campaign.

11/06/2020

POWER TAE THE KEY WORKERS!

During lockdown we have had to put down our paintbrushes and think differently about how we bring colour and positivity to our streets during these difficult times. Over the past 6 weeks we have been working on a series of posters focussing on the crucial role that key workers are playing in the fight against the Covid19 pandemic. We wanted to show solidarity, support, and gratitude towards Glasgow’s key workers during these particularly challenging times, and also to inject Glasgow’s streets with strong, uplifting messages of positivity, optimism, and encouragement.

COBOLT would like to thank our key workers who have been on the frontline and in the forefront day after day, striving to protect us from the full impact of the virus. They are the pillars of our society, always and forever, and may their care, commitment, courage and strength be wholly recognised and valued.

This project has been made possible by the support of seven trade unions who represent key workers across a range of sectors. The unions who have supported the project are: Educational Institute of Scotland, The Communications Union, British Medical Association, GMB Union, Fire Brigades Union, Scottish Artists Union, and UNISON Scotland.

As members of the Scottish Artists Union, we know the real value and importance of trade unions. Recognising that the role of trade unions has been fundamental and effective in supporting key workers throughout this pandemic, we can think of no better group of organisations to be backing us on this project, and are delighted to have them on board.

We would also like to thank Billy and Tam at The Poster Associates for donating the spaces and installing the works. .

Photos by the ever talented Alex James.

10/06/2020

Our very first mural back in March last year to celebrate International Women's Day 2019. It was our first time painting together but definitely not the last time painting in the rain! Again, beautifully documented by FLUX VIDEO.

This is "Celebrate Women - Cobolt" by Flux Video on Vimeo, the home for high quality videos and the people who love them.